Ervin Baktay
Ervin Baktay (1890–1963; born Ervin Gottesmann) was an author noted for popularizing Indian culture in Hungary. Baktay had started his career as a painter and he encouraged his niece Amrita Sher-Gil to pursue art. He gave up painting to study eastern religions and art, and became a renowned Indologist.
Ervin Baktay
Szenti Tamás · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Ervin Baktay
- Birth Name
- Ervin Gottesmann
- Born
- 1890
- Died
- 1963
- Occupation
- Writer, painter
- Full name
- Gottesmann Ervin.
- Nationality
- Hungary.
- Education
- Hungarian University of Fine Arts.
- Honours
- Kőrösi Csoma Sándor commemorative plaquette.
- Languages
- Hungarian.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Ervin Baktay (1890–1963; born Ervin Gottesmann) was an author noted for popularizing Indian culture in Hungary. Baktay had started his career as a painter and he encouraged his niece Amrita Sher-Gil to pursue art. He gave up painting to study eastern religions and art, and became a renowned Indologist.
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Note VALÉORINE
Ervin Baktay (1890–1963) was a Hungarian art historian, indologist and orientalist, among other activities. Born Gottesmann Ervin in Dunaharaszti, the art historian died in Budapest.
Ervin Baktay studied at Hungarian University of Fine Arts. The art historian worked for Nyugat.
Languages used include Hungarian. Ervin Baktay received Kőrösi Csoma Sándor commemorative plaquette.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q652083 · wikipedia · Ervin Baktay
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ervin Baktay • Birth Name — Ervin Gottesmann • Born — 1890 • Died — 1963 • Occupation — Writer, painter • Subject — Indology • Relatives — *Amrita Sher-Gil (niece) • Umrao Singh Sher-Gil (brother-in-law)
Early life
Early life
Ervin Baktay was born on 24 June 1890 in Dunaharaszti, on the Pest side of Budapest. He was the youngest of five children of Raoul Gottesmann and his wife Antononia Levys-Martonfalvy. Following the death of his father in 1905, Baktay's mother decided to move to Austria and then to Zebegény, Hungary, at the onset of the First World War. He studied painting with Simon Hollósy in Munich. Later, in 1927, he made his first journey to India. He was uncle to artist Amrita Sher-Gil and nephew to Nagybánya artist Alfréd Gottesmann (1872–1965).
Works
Works
Baktay translated the Kama Sutra in 1920 and then published a version of the Mahābhārata in 1923. In 1960, he produced a version of the Ramayana. His major work, History of Indian Art, was published in 1963.
Death
Death
• Illustration — Dr. Ervin Baktay's tomb at Farkasréti Cemetery Baktay died in 1963.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Dunaharaszti.
Birth place
Budapest.
Death place
Selected publications
• Baktay Ervin: Die Kunst Indiens; Übers. Edith Róth; Bearb. Heinz Kucharski; Berlin - Budapest, Terra - Akad. Verlag, 1963.
Ervin Baktay by Béla Domonkos (2006 bronze bust) in Park. Ervin Baktay, painter, art historian, orientalist, astrologer, writer, literary translator born in Dunaharaszti - Baktay Ervin tér, Dunaharaszti, Pest County, Hungary.
Globetrotter19
Ervin High School- Fine Arts Exhibition Place AND Elementary art school. Permanent exhibition: contemporary painting, sculpture and graphics. - 1 Baktay Ervin tér, Dunaharaszti, Pest County, Hungary.
Globetrotter19
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Ervin Baktay”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q652083: Ervin Baktay
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Baktay Ervin (1890-1963) megjelent könyvei (Terebess Ázsia E-Tár)
- 2.Indo-Hungarian Cultural & Educational Relations, Historical Perspective , Indian Embassy in Hungary
- 3.Claudine Bautze-Picron. Ervin Baktay, the art historian. BÉLA KELÉNYI, Az indológus indián. Baktay Ervin emlékezete (The Indologist Indian: Memory of Ervin Baktay), Budapest: Museum of Fine Arts – Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, 2014 (pp. 364-9)., 2014. halshs-01079408
- 4.Amrita Shergil, sikh-heritage.co.uk
- 5.Dalmia, pp. 12-13
- 6.Sundaram, p. xvi
- 7.Sundaram, p. 60
- 8.Sundaram, p. 56
- 9.Keserü, Katalin. Amrita Sher-Gil: Art & Life : a reader. Oxford University Press. 67-68. 2014. 978-0-19-809886-7.
- 10.Pollet, Ag. Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact : Proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaṇa Conference, Leuven, 6-8 July 1991. Peeters Publishers. 149. 1995. 90-6831-701-6.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
- Dalmia, Yashodhara. Amrita Sher-Gil: A Life. Penguin Books. 2013. 978-0-14-342026-2.
- Sundaram, Vivan. Amrita Sher-Gil: A Self-Portrait in Letters and Writings. Tulika Books. 1. 1-417. 2010. 978-81-89487-59-1.
- Sundaram, Vivan. Amrita Sher-Gil: A Self-Portrait in Letters and Writings. Tulika Books. 2. 418-821. 2010. 978-81-89487-59-1.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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